Public welcome at C-PH Cancer Center groundbreaking Wednesday

Tuesday, August 17, 2010 - 5:03 pm

POTSDAM – The public will be welcome Wednesday at the ceremony when Canton-Potsdam Hospital breaks ground and kicks off construction of an $8-million addition to consolidate cancer care on its main campus.

The ceremony will take place at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday on the Leroy Street side of the main hospital campus at 50 Leroy St.

The event’s MC will be Jackie Dow, Director of Oncology Services for the hospital, and special guest speaker will be Jacquelyn Kuno, Foundation Board Vice Chair. The public is encouraged to attend.

Light refreshments will be available and music will be provided courtesy of the New Horizons Band.

The approximately 10,000 square-foot addition will encompass a reception lobby, private bays for chemotherapy treatment, with flat-screen televisions and headsets for distraction, examination rooms, consultation rooms, snack preparation rooms, and space for families to confer with medical and social workers and dieticians. A new state-of-the-art linear accelerator for radiotherapy will have an open-door design, which provides privacy yet is less intimidating for patients. The facility will be heated and cooled by a geothermal system.

A healing garden is planned for one end of the building. The facility was designed to take advantage of as much natural light as possible. Interiors are in antimicrobial and environmentally friendly finishes.

Canton-Potsdam Hospital recently received approval from the state Department of Health for the consolidated cancer center. Construction cost is budgeted at approximately $6 million, with the linear accelerator costing an additional $1.7 million. The hospital is financing the center and expects to pay back the loan through donations and revenue from operations. Financing enabling start of construction was secured with assistance from the Canton-Potsdam Hospital Foundation, which will launch a special fundraising campaign for the center and other CPH initiatives later this fall.

“We’re grateful for the support our donors show every year, and for similar large projects in the past,” said Hospital Foundation Executive Director Laura Cordts. “Even in tough times, North Country people understand the need to stay up to date in cancer treatment, and to provide facilities that give patients the best care close to home. Although we haven’t begun our campaign yet, our hospital guilds, local businesses, and others are already showing support for this worthwhile project,” she said.

“Unfortunately, it’s the rare person who has not been touched by cancer, personally or in the case of friends or a co-worker,” Cordts said. “Through updating and consolidating our cancer care services, we’ll be able to provide the best, most comprehensive care possible.”